As wireless industry start 2019, we will now see a new batch of competitive 5G solutions offered by the likes of Intel, Mediatek, Samsung LSI and HiSilicon poise to challenge the leading position of Qualcomm.

Every decade or so, a new technology or device format is unveiled that immediately disrupts the market. Apple was the instigator in 2007, and the iPhone upended the mobile phone industry. More than a decade later, the smartphone market is now showing signs of stagnation. The latest designs from various companies are starting to look more alike, which is making brand differentiation difficult.

According to preliminary IHS Markit smartphone data, global smartphone shipments recorded a negative year-over-year growth rate for two consecutive quarters in 2018. Shipments totaled 354.8 million units in the third quarter of 2018, declining by 3.3 percent from the previous year.

The adoption of UCaaS continue to expand worldwide, but the market remains highly fragmented with a wide range of offerings from a variety of providers. The market is composed of pure-plays, network operators, cable MSOs, ISPs, system integrators, and traditional premises-based vendors. With a wide range of service offerings and capabilities, things can be confusing for businesses trying to find the right provider and service to fit their needs. Clients, please log in to view the full content.

As the smartphone industry passes its decade-long run being the most popular consumer electronics of all time, the market is beginning to see signs of maturation and slowdown. Smartphone OEMs are now competing on innovations in form factor (i.e. the move to larger and bezel-less displays), cameras (i.e. biometric sensors and computational photography) as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) services...

That’s the key takeaway from Ribbon Perspectives 18’s Network Transformation panel held on June 5 in Los Angeles. With more than 600 attendees and loud L.A. style music blasting before, between, and after sessions, the event keeps growing. And of course, you don’t want to miss those perspectives. The panel had representatives from BT, Bell, and Verizon, all talking about their ongoing network transformation initiatives. All three are big on the role of software defined networks (SDN) as the key enabler of automation while preserving some of the legacy nodes that are fully depreciated and providing high reliability. Clients, please log in to view the full content.

The decision handed down by the Trump administration essentially put an end to the months-long $117B hostile bid by Broadcom (AVGO) for Qualcomm (QCOM). Trump cited national security and US competitiveness in the upcoming 5G transition as reasons to block the troubled acquisition. However, behind the scenes, a clearer picture is emerging as to the threat that US perceives China – specifically Huawei - as being on the future competitiveness in the wireless sector of the market. Thus, this business-friendly administration ultimately yielded to national interests in handing down their decision.

A decline in on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) licenses led the global market to decrease 8 percent in 2017 from 2016, to $5.7 billion. Total PBX lines were down 9 percent year over year in 2017, with every segment taking a hit.

HMD Global launched five new mobile phones at MWC 2018, all with striking industrial design. By choosing to only offer handsets with Google's pure Android One or Android Oreo (Go Edition), HMD threatens to disrupt established OEMs with legacy software. The new Nokia 8110 demonstrates featurephones are evolving now with LTE and will not die soon. HMD's flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco has a stunning steel-framed dual curved edge display in a super compact frame which will target Europe.

Samsung is packing its main innovative push into the cameras of its latest flagship Galaxy S devices. With the new super slow motion video capture, Samsung has improved on previous industry attempts to commercialize this feature. The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are strong handset designs which evolve from 2017’s excellent S8. They are markedly different in camera quality and display size from the two to three year old smartphones potential customers own now which should boost upgrades. However, consumers may delay purchase because of rising flagship prices.

At MWC Sony Mobile unveiled two new smartphones, Xperia XZ2, XZ Compact and the commercial launch for its Xperia Duo wearable. The importance of Sony’s innovations with these new smartphones will set the tone for the smartphone market for the next few years. IHS Markit expects other smartphone OEMs to deliver similar capabilities in the future including copying Sony’s 4K HDR video capture. But there is much more work needed to re-build Sony’s smartphone business and achievable sustainable profitability.

On Monday Broadcom’s proposal to purchase Qualcomm for $70 per share was rejected by Qualcomm’s Board of Directors a week after the offer was officially announced. The deal could have potentially created a semiconductor...